Incremental Development: The Craft Beer Model of Walkable Urban Places

Robert Steuteville interviews John Anderson, principal of Anderson-Kim Architecture & Urban Design, and Eric Kronberg, principal of Kronberg Wall Architecture, about the virtues of incremental development and role of small developers in the building community.

The premise of the article, on the value of incremental development, is that "great places are built in small increments." On the other side of that coin is sprawl, which in the United States "grew hand-in-hand with the supersizing of the development industry." In the contemporary era, according to Steuteville, "Small urban developers can succeed by understanding that 'the project is the neighborhood'—and even a tiny development can build value and contribute to community. In doing so, small developers can be the craft beer to big developers' Budweiser."

The interview ranges from how incremental development benefits walkable urban places, how incremental development relates to New Urbanism, the craft beer industry as a model for development success, and the types of developments that fill the incremental needs of communities.